But aside from cooking her famous Ojibwe fried rice, Leah didn’t feel connected to the significance of Manoomin — a sacred plant revered ... by learning to harvest wild rice MPR News senior ...

Records show wild rice was common around the turn of the 20th century, but poor water quality caused die-offs in the 1980s. Today, it's making a big return on the river.

The wild rice, native to Asia ... threatening native plants and animals as well as people and structures, the University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health reports.